The spike driven by ZIRP and COVID is now history. For a while, multiples stabilized. Then AI picked up momentum and put the SaaS business model in question, but maybe we have finally bottomed out.
By Lukas Grundström
3 min read · Pre-Money, Issue 01 · Updated September 2026
The short answer: the median public SaaS company traded at 4.2x EV/ARR in July 2026 (25th–75th percentile: 2.9x–7.0x), down from a median peak of 16.3x in August 2021. Growth is still priced at a significant premium: companies growing over 30% traded at 13.6x, against 3.1x for those growing under 15%.
In plain termsEV / ARREV is market capitalization plus net debt. ARR is annualized revenue as the index defines it: the latest reported quarter times four.
4.2x
Median EV/ARR, July 2026
16.3x
Median peak, August 2021
13.6x
Growing over 30%, July 2026
3.1x
Growing under 15%, July 2026
Ten years of trading multiples
Enterprise Value (EV) / ARR
Median25th–75th percentile
Hover or tap along the line to read any month.
Return to the (new) normal
Multiples have settled below pre-peak levels, although with a proportionally wider spread between top and bottom performers. The end result of the ‘AI drop’ is yet to be seen, but the recent uptick is the first sign of a floor.
Ten years of trading multiples by revenue growth bracket
Enterprise Value (EV) / ARR
Switch a bracket off to compare the other two.
But some things never change
Growth is consistently priced at a significant premium. During 2022 the top two brackets were near indistinguishable, but now that the dust has settled, the fastest growers clear more than four times the multiple of the slowest.
SaaS Capital Index, monthly to 31 July 2026. ARR is annualized revenue as the index defines it (the latest reported quarter times four), and EV is market capitalization plus net debt. The index was backfilled only with companies active when it was compiled in Q3 2019, so 2016–2019 is survivors only, and the count runs 25 to 55. The over-30% cohort is thin: 1 to 8 companies from 2024 onward, and 4 in July 2026.
4.2x EV/ARR in July 2026 on the SaaS Capital Index, with the 25th–75th percentile running from 2.9x to 7.0x.
When did SaaS trading multiples peak?
The median peaked at 16.3x EV/ARR in August 2021 and the 75th percentile at 23.3x in October 2021. The spike driven by ZIRP and COVID is now history.
How much does revenue growth affect SaaS multiples?
Growth is consistently priced at a significant premium. In July 2026 companies growing over 30% traded at 13.6x ARR, against 6.6x for those growing 15–30% and 3.1x for those growing under 15%: the fastest growers clear more than four times the multiple of the slowest.
Have SaaS multiples bottomed out?
The end result of the ‘AI drop’ is yet to be seen, but the recent uptick is the first sign of a floor.
Originally published in Pre-Money, Issue 01 (Crispa, 2026), p. 5. Figures are as reported at the date given with each chart; medians describe a market, not any one company, and nothing here is advice on the price of yours.
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